We're taking our two sons, one 17, the other 12. I wonder if we should check into allowing them to bring a friend? I sure can't afford to pay for them, though. Hmmm, maybe that's a bad idea. I'll need about a dozen more Memory Sticks. Better start looking for deals on those!
First, the 12 year old may have fun, but the 17 year old will probably be bored. Spending your time at universal studios or one of the other secondary theme parks is more in tune for the boys.
Second, it will be hotter than hell there during that time...and ya you will get burned to a crisp. Make sure everyone wears hats, and that you have sunscreen lip balm. Buy the hats before you come down here (thereby saving a bunch of money); make sure they cover the back of the neck too. You may find it impossible to sleep the first or the second night if the back of your neck is fried from wearing a baseball cap.
Third, going to disney is not about saving money, it is about spending it...but you can save some by doing a few simple things:
1) Staying off site. I used to have contracts to do work in a bunch of hotels in Orlando, and I can assure you that there are some damn nice hotels for a lot less than 100 bucks a night off site. You have to rent a car. Of all the hotels I have stayed at since I moved to miami, I would recommend the Residence Inn Marriot over by Sea World. Rates are about 90 bucks a night and you get a full refridgerator, stove and two rooms (three beds). I have seen the hotels on site and trust me you are paying way too much money for a hotel that is no better than off site places costing half as much.
2) Buy groceries, and take a break towards 4 or 5 to eat back at the room. You will need to get away from the sun for a while anyway (the kids will want to go swimming in the hottest part of the day and frankly that ain't a bad idea either). Most hotels have a free buffet in the morning, load up on the eggs and stuff and then wait until mid-afternoon to eat. If you do not want to go all the way back to the hotel, buy stuff like subway subs (or make your own sandwiches) and put them in a cooler in the car.
3) If you must buy any ingestables at the park, make sure you get refillable mugs of juice or water. Then drink lots of refills, you will need it...just remember that the stuff coming out of the fountains will taste like crap and is usually warm so you will have to buy refills from vendors. Gee I wonder why they do that???
4) Buy your film (or memory stix) at a wholesale club before you come down. You will choke when you see how much disney will rape you for film or stix. Buy 2x as much as you think you will need. It stays good for a long time if you do not use it all. And if you do use film, try to wait to see if the pics came out; again you will get raped for developing film down here.
5) You will see lots of "discount" or "outlet" malls. They are neither discount nor outlet. Stay away from them and save yourself that kind of aggravation.
6) The stores inside of disney sell the same stuff, generally, as most of the stores outside of disney. And the prices are higher in the park.
7) You can buy tickets from vendors in your hotel, or on the streets...usually they want you to go look at some time share crap so be carefull; but if you are cheap you can turn this to your advantage. I have a friend who used to go to disney twice a year and not pay to get into the park; he would just do one of the half day seminars and then smile, say he is not interested, and gets the tix.
8) If you really really want to eat out, stay away from the buffet! The buffet resteraunts may sound cheaper, but they are not. If you can stomach it, try to eat at national chains all week. I have found that Subway prices are pretty close to the same as miami, so they are not as bad a ripoff.
EDIT: The first time I went there, I had AAA set it all up. After that, I just went to web sites and got all the best info. AAA rates do go a long way towards saving money tho.